First Halo Wars play report

In its latest website refresh, RTS veteran Ensemble Studios has provided an update for Halo-strategy crossover Halo Wars, revealing that the Xbox 360 exclusive title is fully playable and "fairly polished".

"Last week, a bunch of Microsoft Games Studio (MGS) big wigs were down here to view the latest build of our game," the update reads. "This was more than a conventional milestone, as they sat down to play the game and get a hands on feel on how the project is really coming along."

"Our visitors included Shane Kim, the head of MGS, and a number of his cohorts. We made sure we had a fairly polished build of our game ready for these folks to play, including some wicked new UI work by Ensemble Studios Artist Andy Gotcher and Programmer Billy Khan."

According to Ensemble the Microsoft crew by all accounts "had a good time" with the game and were impressed with its current state. "We've got a long way to go still," the update continues, "but it's very encouraging when a group like this can sit down and have fun beating the hell out of each other so far from any ship date."

The only glimpse we've been given so far of Halo Wars has been anX06 teaser trailerand several bits of rather prettyconcept art. Though considering the game is apparently up and running at Microsoft, we're hopeful that a more in-depth look at the game is just around the corner.